RENSSELAERVILLE — A recent escape from the Cass Residential Center in Rensselaerville has reawakened fear. The friends and family of a Cass worker who was kidnapped and raped by a resident are worried about the security of the juvenile detention facility.
"An incident involving AWOL residents did occur," a spokesperson for the state Office of Children and Family Services confirmed; the Saturday, Sept. 24, escape is under investigation by the State Police. Because the escapees, who are now back at the facility, are juveniles, the spokesman, Brian Marchetti would not comment on the details of the incident.

The Cass Residential Center, known by some locals as Camp Cass, is located outside of the hamlet of Rensselaerville on Camp Cass Drive, off of Route 353. It’s the home of 25 male delinquents, between the ages of 14 and 18.

September’s escape comes less than a year after an escape last December in which a resident, Michael Elston, 16, of Buffalo, raped a 51-year-old employee and held her at knifepoint as they drove to Albany in her car. The victim was able to escape in Albany.

A close relative of the victim, a Rensselaerville resident who asked that her name be withheld, spoke to The Enterprise last week about her reaction to the latest escape. She alleged that one of the escapees was schizophrenic and had written about a plan to stab a worker’s ear with a pencil.
"It’s gotten to the point that the community should be afraid," she said. "It’s beyond protecting kids because they’re minors."

The relative said others in Rensselaerville are also worried.
"It’s not just us," she said. "There are a lot of people in the community that are worried. There’s been numerous escapes over the years."

J. Robert Lansing, Rensselaerville’s supervisor, said security at the center also worries him.
"It’s something that I’m concerned about," Lansing said. "I’m concerned about the whole episode."

Though Town Hall has only received one complaint about the center in his single four-year term as supervisor, Lansing said he is more concerned as a citizen of Rensselaerville since 1934. He would not comment on what he is doing about the problem or to whom he is speaking.

Albany County District Attorney David Soares has assigned an assistant district attorney to investigate allegations against the camp, said Soares’s spokesman, Richard Arthur. These allegations emerged during the prosecution of Elston, who received a 27-year prison sentence, one year short of the maximum, Arthur said. He would not comment on the allegations themselves.

The DA’s investigation is intended to determine whether or not the allegations are true, Arthur said.
"We haven’t made any such determination at this point," he said. "We are working with state investigators and we will make a determination based on our findings."

Marchetti said the center is classified as non-secure, the lowest level of security in the correctional system. The juveniles sentenced there by the court receive counseling, education, and vocational training. They also participate in a number of indoor and outdoor sports.

The Cass Residential Center referred all questions to Marchetti. Marchetti refused to comment on how security is handled at the center or the qualifications of the guards. A promised fax on security policy never arrived at The Enterprise.
Marchetti did say, "We constantly work to provide a safe and secure environment." As for people who live in the surrounding area, Marchetti said, "They’re extremely important to us."

On matters of security and relations with area residents, the center consults with a citizens’ advisory board made up of Rensselaerville citizens.
"We work very closely with them," Marchetti said.
Marchetti didn’t have available the names of the members of the advisory board. He suggested The Enterprise "track them down."

None of this is very reassuring to Rensselaerville residents. Adele Claypoole, a long-time resident and close friend of Elston’s victim, said she thinks the center does nothing to communicate with those who live near it.
"There’s nobody even to warn you," Claypoole said. "We’re basically in the woods here. They shouldn’t even be there. Obviously, they haven’t ever done a darn thing."

Claypoole questioned the center’s hiring practice for guards and other employees. She noted that her friend, the victim, was hired as a cook/secretary even though she had no kitchen experience.
"They just seem to hire anybody off the street, it seems to me," Claypoole said.

In her former job as a care provider to homebound Hilltowners, Claypoole said, she encountered many people who were afraid of escapees from the center.

On the other hand, Claypoole said, many of her neighbors don’t even know it exists. One new neighbor with children, Claypoole said, just found out about it.
"He told me that, if he had known, he never would have bought it," she said of his new home.